ENTERTAINMENT

The (late) King of Pop beat out every recording artist to become the most-downloaded musician of all time, based on sales data from Nokia.

According to data collected by Nokia’s Ovi music store, Michael Jackson has surpassed Elvis Presley, Lady Gaga and a horde of the world’s most popular recording artists to achieve this title.

In a release, musicologist Geoff Roberts noted “Michael Jackson has always been a pop music legend. But the anniversary of his death and upcoming birthday celebrations seem to have revived Jackson fever as fans rediscover his songs, making him the most popular solo artist of all time.”

Jackson’s “Beat It,” a popular 1982 single, is the most popular track in the Nokia Ovi store, with “Billie Jean” and “Thriller” close behind.

When Jackson passed away last summer, tweets mentioning him accounted for an unprecedented 30% of all tweets that day. And during the singer’s memorial service, more than half a million status updates were posted to Facebook.

Driving Ken Block Style

Richard Branson's Necker Island Fire